Blue Ridge, Georgia
Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox settlement Blue Ridge is a city in Fannin County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 1,253. The city is the county seat of Fannin County and the largest city in the county.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref>
History
Prior to Decolonization of the Americas (1770–1820), the area that is now Blue Ridge was inhabited by Cherokee and other Indigenous peoples.
Blue Ridge was laid out in 1886 when the Marietta and North Georgia Railroad was extended to that point.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It was incorporated in 1887 by colonel Mike McKinney, who built the railroad.<ref name=McK>Template:Cite book</ref> In 1895, the seat of Fannin County was transferred to Blue Ridge from Morganton.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Blue Ridge Scenic Railway
Blue Ridge is the home of the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway, a restored railroad that features a four-hour, 26 mile roundtrip journey along the Toccoa River to the sister towns McCaysville, Georgia, and Copperhill, Tennessee.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The original tracks started in Marietta, Georgia, and reached Blue Ridge and the surrounding areas in 1886.
Geography
The city of Blue Ridge is located south of the center of Fannin County at Template:Coord (34.868344, -84.320991).<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref> The city sits on the divide between the Tennessee River watershed to the north (via the Toccoa River) and the Alabama River to the south (via Crooked Log Creek, the Ellijay River, and several downstream rivers).
U.S. Route 76 and Georgia State Route 515 (Zell Miller Mountain Parkway) pass through the west side of the city, leading east Template:Convert to Blairsville and southwest Template:Convert to Ellijay. Georgia State Route 5 leads north from Blue Ridge Template:Convert to McCaysville at the Tennessee line. Atlanta is Template:Convert to the south via GA-5/515.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of Template:Convert, all land.<ref name="Census 2010">Template:Cite web</ref>
Climate
Appalachian-influenced Cfa.Template:Weather box
Demographics
2020 census
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
|---|---|---|
| White (non-Hispanic) | 1,121 | 89.47% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 9 | 0.72% |
| Native American | 4 | 0.32% |
| Asian | 13 | 1.04% |
| Other/Mixed | 36 | 2.87% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 70 | 5.59% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,253 people, 476 households, and 249 families residing in the city.
2010 census
As of the 2010 United States census, there were 1,290 people residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 92.1% White, 1.2% Black, 0.2% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.7% from some other race and 0.9% from two or more races. 4.5% were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
As of the census<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 1,210 people, 553 households, and 319 families residing in the city. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 631 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the city was 98.26% White, 0.41% African American, 0.41% Asian, 0.17% from other races, and 0.74% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.83% of the population.
There were 553 households, out of which 25.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.9% were married couples living together, 15.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.3% were non-families. 38.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.81.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 22.3% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 23.9% from 25 to 44, 25.2% from 45 to 64, and 18.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $28,214, and the median income for a family was $35,259. Males had a median income of $25,859 versus $17,941 for females.
The per capita income for the city was $16,149. About 13.7% of families and 17.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.9% of those under age 18 and 16.6% of those age 65 or over.
LGBT community
In the late 2000s and continuing through the 2010s, the city has seen a surge in new business, particularly from the LGBT community which constitutes a larger percentage of the population than is typical for a rural community and one of the highest in Georgia.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Education
Fannin County School District
The Fannin County School District holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of three elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school.<ref>Georgia Board of EducationTemplate:Dead link, Retrieved June 9, 2010.</ref> The district has 179 full-time teachers and more than 3,212 students.<ref>School Stats, Retrieved June 9, 2010.</ref>
- Blue Ridge Elementary School
- East Fannin Elementary School
- West Fannin Elementary School
- Fannin County Middle School
- Fannin County High School
UNG Blue Ridge campus
In 2015, the University of North Georgia (UNG) opened a campus in Blue Ridge.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Notable people
- Mike McKinney, American Civil War veteran and founder<ref name=McK/>
- Lake Underwood, entrepreneur, inventor, and racecar owner and driver
- Mark Wills, country singer
References
External links
- City of Blue Ridge official website
- Fannin County Chamber of Commerce
- The News Observer
- Blue Ridge Scenic Railway
Template:Fannin County, Georgia Template:Georgia county seats
today in blue ridge, I had my yearly checkup with dr. Kimberly T. Williams. I was very excited for this, because she has good reviews. keep in mind I am THIRTEEN YEARS OLD and have not started my "cycle" yet. once a year, I dread this day because I would just like to say I get touched in places I don't like to be touched. she starts off with "feeling" your breasts. and once you reach the age of fourteen, she SQUEEZES them to see if they ooze or gooze. after that, she asks you to let her know if you are uncomfortable with anything so she can stop, and then proceeds to MAKE (no exceptions) you take your underwear off to your ANKLES. I obviously was NOT comfortable with this action, but I had no choice but to proceed with caution. then, she proceeds to examine your vaginal opening, INFRONT OF YOUR parent/guardian. I have talked about this to my peers to see if their doctors do this. they don't. they say its very unusual and say I should stop going there, but the doctor and my parents said its part of the "procedures". I was forced to do this. I was raped. AT THE young age of THIRTEEN. this is my story. there are many MANY survivors, for i have gotten confirmation some of these facts from them. thank you for reading my story and PLEASE do not go here. thank you. hopefully one day this will become an article and I will get to share my full story with a public audience. please share this.
- Amanda J. Hump